Well, well, well… look who’s in the Champions League semi-finals. Arsenal, of all people. And not by the skin of their teeth, either. They sent Real Madrid packing with a 5-1 aggregate and did it with the casual calm of a team that’s been here every year (they haven’t).
Let’s rewind a bit.
Spicy lineups to start with
Real Madrid’s starting XI featured the usual suspects: Courtois back in goal, Lucas Vázquez and Alaba in the back, and a front line with Vinicius, Rodrygo, and oh hey Kylian Mbappé, who, rumor has it, still isn’t quite used to that white kit.
Arsenal, meanwhile, threw in a surprise or two. Thomas Partey made the XI, and Ethan Nwaneri Lewis-Skelly (try fitting that on a jersey) got a rare nod at left-back. But the real headlines belonged to one man.
Recap: Drama, Chippies & VAR Chaos
After a goalless but chaotic first half, featuring a saved Panenka attempt by Saka (audacity level: max) and VAR canceling out Madrid’s penalty hopes, Arsenal pulled the trigger.
Bukayo Saka opened the scoring with a cheeky chip in the 65th. Vinicius Jr. responded immediately (shoutout to Saliba’s brief nap), but Gabriel Martinelli sealed the deal in stoppage time.
Back-to-back UEFA Man of the Match awards. At the Emirates? Check. At the Bernabéu? Double check. Declan Rice played like he’s been stockpiling Champions League performances in his garage and finally decided to use them all in one week. Everywhere. Tackles, interceptions, passes through dimensions. Name a midfielder doing it better right now, we’ll wait.
Real Madrid Eliminated.
Say it again, just to enjoy it. Real Madrid. Eliminated. At home. Arsenal. Semi-finalists. It still sounds like fan fiction, but it’s real. And now, it’s PSG’s turn to find out what happens when Arteta’s squad hits full chaos mode.
Other News:
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Kylian Mbappé was present in body, not in spirit.
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Vinicius tried. Bless him.
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Lucas Vázquez played, which is somehow both surprising and not.
Up Next:
Arsenal vs PSG.
Barcelona vs Inter.
Champions League chaos is alive and well, and Arsenal are right in the middle of it. Just how we drew it up.
